The present invention relates to processes for reducing lactose in milk or milk products; more particularly, the invention relates to a process for producing a milk product having at least a 70% reduction of lactose therein.
The reduction of the lactose concentration in milk is accomplished by introducing into the milk a lactase enzyme. When this enzyme is added into a batch of milk, and the milk is held in a holding tank for a predetermined time and at a predetermined temperature, the lactose concentration in the milk becomes reduced. After the step has been completed, the batch may be further processed, as by pasteurizing, and ultimately delivered into containers such as paper/plastic milk cartons. A disadvantage to this approach is that the milk must be batch processed, and the holding time required for permitting the lactase enzyme to reduce the concentration of lactose can range between several hours to more than a day.